


A Lecture on Parasites

by Doctor Caduceus (Lemniscate)



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-03
Updated: 2010-01-03
Packaged: 2017-10-08 05:03:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemniscate/pseuds/Doctor%20Caduceus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mohinder explains mistletoe to Molly while on a walk and reflects on the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lecture on Parasites

**Author's Note:**

> Implications of past Mohinder/Sylar

"Mohinder?" the little girl asked as she tugged his hand, walking them down the street past shoppers and Salvation Army bell ringers. He was still unsure how he felt about the 'form of address' situation- Doctor Suresh would obviously too formal, Mohinder seemed awfully casual for a little girl, and… Uncle Mohinder just did _not_ sound right. Not even remotely.

"Yes darling?" he asked. She pointed up at a tree on the border of the park.

"I thought all the trees but the Christmas trees—"

"—Evergreens, dear," he interrupted, ever the professor. Molly shot him a look that indicated that yes, this was a very annoying habit.

"—lost their leaves in winter," she finished. Mohinder followed her finger to where she was pointing.

"Ahh, well, that's mistletoe," he said. He knelt on the ground so that she could put her arms around his shoulders and get a closer look. "Don't touch it; it's poisonous."

"Mohinder," Molly said in a tone of gentle but firm pity. "You're not _that_ tall. That's the stuff people kiss under?"

"Well, from what I've seen, people around here use plastic, but yes. It's a parasite. It gets water and food from the tree it attaches to."

"It's really pretty. But parasite means that it's hurting the tree, right?" she asked.

"It's complicated," Mohinder sighed, thinking back to his time when Sylar was pretending to be Zane Taylor. "Some parasites are worse than others. It takes from the tree, but it doesn't really hurt it. Some parasites spread diseases, others steal nutrients that their hosts need, making them sickly, but the mistletoe, well… it just sort of hangs there."

"It's weird," Molly said as Mohinder set her down and they continued on their walk.

"What is?" Mohinder asked.

"It's just awful nice looking for a poisonous parasite," she shrugged. Mohinder felt a twist in his gut and gave a rueful smile.

"Well," he said, glancing back over his shoulder at the merry sphere of green leaves in the branches, mind wandering back to a time when a nice looking parasite poisoned him, in a way.

"'Looks can be deceiving,' right?" Molly asked brightly. "Like in fairy tales."

"Right," Mohinder said. "Which is why Matt and I always tell you to be careful."

Molly nodded, face growing serious as she squeezed Mohinder's hand tighter.

"I will be. I promise," she said. Mohinder sighed, looking back at the mistletoe one last time, wishing that he'd worked out a way to learn that lesson when he was ten years old instead of thirty-one.


End file.
